Single-Leg X Troubleshooting

[Rjay]

Ok so the first thing i'm gonna look at is the opponents free foot position:

This looks at the opponents free leg. So the red line is how my body is facing (I was too lazy to scale it, hopefully you get the idea) the black dot is the opponents trapped leg (in this example it is their right leg, so I would be lacing it with my left) the numbered blue dots correspond to where the opponents free leg is.

The problem I'm having (and how I came across this thread in the first place) is when the guy is chilling in position 4, so his body is now almost 90 degrees to me. He's not back stepping, but the un-trapped leg is pretty far away and he has good base. If he brings he leg to 5 I can take my left foot around and go for the back, but 4 it's not possible. He's not passing but I can't get any offense going, so it's a stalemate. Surely there has to be a solution.

 

[Uchi Mata]

Hi guys,
It may seem like a silly question, but try to understand that it comes from someone who hasn't got much experience playing this type of guard.
Now, it seems like a great guard to manage distance vs. bigger guys, and also one with a lot of high percentage sweeps when set up. The question is: why nowadays we don't see it in the competitive scene as much as DLR or RDLR?
Might be the higher percentage of back takes that both of this guards present? or perhaps may be only sth related with trend issues?

Hope the question doesn't bother, I wanted to know the opinion of some SLX experienced players.

I think you do see it quite a bit. The little guys are all about the berimbolo because they want to skip passing and go directly to the back, but Lo's guard game is based on SLX, Lepri uses it all the time, all Marcelo's guys use it, much of the DDS leg locking stuff starts from SLX, it's pretty popular. Even the Mendes bros have started showing a lot of DLR -> SLX stuff on their website, I'd imagine you'll see it more from their students in the future.

As to why we don't see even more, the simplest answers are just that there are a lot of different open guard styles and different people have different preferences, plus it can be hard to enter against really good guys whereas you can almost always at least get started with DLR. I end up using a lot of DLR against better guys, even though I'm using it basically to try and get into SLX. Once you get there, the sweep usually happens pretty fast, so it's natural that the ratio of other guards to SLX would be imbalanced. It's like full X: no one 'plays' it, because the hard part is getting there but once you do you generally get the sweep in short order. It's not a 'hang out' sort of guard like DLR or spider.

 

[Uchi Mata]

Thanks,I know you work the position alot as well. Keep us updated on your thoughts. One key thing I've gotten results with off the bat is that he uses a palm up grip on the free knee. In the past, i've used my free hand to either grip the lapel or to try and get the pant cuff of the free leg. His grip is superior and easier to get.I've pretty much instantly got more success in the position once I used his grip and placement.

I did get this some time ago, and I found it to be a lot of review of stuff I've seen before along with a few items that are neat but I don't really use (like the transition into the waiter sweep). I do like his transition to SLX from RDLR, but it's a little loose to rely on for me. Thinking more about MMA and open rules submission grappling I actually find myself gravitating more towards the old Demian Maia anaconda style with a heavy reap. I've had a lot of success trying the basic twist sweep to the outside and on significant resistance transitioning to a reaping leg lace from standing to sweep and finish with a heel hook. Of course, that's a very different scenario than IBJJF legal gi stuff.